Once a symbol of abandonment and rated one of the largest slums in Africa, , Governor Charles Soludo’s ongoing urban regeneration drive, has brought Okpoko town in Ogbaru Local Government Area (LGA) from the ashes of hardship to become a case study of the power of intentional transformation.
Under Soludo’s administration, this forgotten urban slum has been reborn into what residents now proudly call a “New Heaven.”
Soludo’s administration has constructed new roads, with their asphalt gleaming under the sun, and has commissioned the Solution General Hospital—a historic first for the Ogbaru constituency One, and also a new set of Solution Water Scheme, with its solar-powered pipes bringing clean water to homes that once relied on contaminated sources.
According to a report by Izuchukwu Adichie, Senior Special Adviser on New Media to the Governor, Soludo said this was not just about infrastructure; it was about restoring life, hope, and pride to a community that had endured too much for too long. “This is not just a hospital or a road. It is a promise kept, a promise that no one will be left behind,” Soludo affirmed.
Under the governor, Okpoko has witnessed the construction of 4.245 kilometres of roads —2.9km Mgbuka-Amaku-Emekekwe Road and 1.345km Union street-Ojoto Street junction-Adazi Ani Street Owerri Road, while the drainage systems in the area have banished decades of mud and flooding.
With the road projects, the total asphalted road network in the area totals 15.623 kilometres out of the 19.9 kilometres awarded and 3.467km under construction.
Soludo’s vision for Okpoko extends beyond bricks and mortar, as plans are underway for a digital and recreational centre, where children born in Okpoko will learn to code and share their skills with the world.
“Our work here is not done, we will continue to invest in Okpoko until every resident, every child, feels the impact of this transformation,” Governor Soludo stated.
